We're not entirely sure where they acquired it - or perhaps who they had to bribe - but CoolSmartPhone have managed to find an HTC Hero for a few days of play. Their unboxing video inexplicably starts with a brief wildlife watch, and takes place one-handed in a car, but we'll cut them some slack; after all, we all know what it's like to be so excited by a new toy that we can't wait until we're home to open it up.
Most of the video is a general overview of the device hardware; there's no SIM in the handset at first, but we're pleased to see that the Hero will still let you access much of Sense without one. The new HTC UI looks just as smooth as it did in our hands-on testing.
Otherwise the contents of the box seems to be pretty much in line with every other HTC Android device we've seen: USB cable for charging and synchronizing, a power adapter and interchangeable power plug section, and stereo headset. We're expecting our own Hero in soon, so keep asking questions for the official Android Community review!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wELCCUchWhc[/youtube]

Hot on the heels of the HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1) "Rosie" HTC Sense video demo comes this, HTC's second Android device, the Magic, supposedly running the official firmware from the upcoming HTC Hero. Unlike the LeakDroid SuperHERO ROM, this Fatal1ty ROM is tipped as being almost unmodified.
In fact, all they've apparently done is tweaked it just enough to make it run on the Magic. Because of that it supports Flash, as well as all the HTC widgets expected to be on the production Hero. There's also multitouch support, and in the latest version both GPS and the camera are functional.
The one significant drawback we're hearing is that Sense must be completely reloaded whenever the Magic's home button is pressed, something which as you'd expect slows matters right down. That could be a memory issue or something else to be addressed by the hacked ROM creators.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AI2c8QmM-0[/youtube]

If you fancy a taste of HTC Sense on your G1 or Magic, the regular "Rosie" ROM leaks have already provided a way. The LeakDroid project has been taking the Haykuro ROMs - which include the new HTC Sense UI - and developing builds for those with earlier devices.
Android HDblog have been playing with the latest so-called SuperHERO ROM, and put together a video demo which you can see below. They've loaded it up on the HTC Dream (aka the T-Mobile G1) and given their opinion of the changes.
Unsurprisingly the multitouch browser support, new PMP functionality and social networking integration all get high praise. Less impressive are the slow performance and occasional crashes, together with the absence of screen-rotation support (that currently leads to more crashing). Still, it's free to try and with the news that official "with Google" branded devices are unlikely to see HTC Sense officially these hack projects might be your best bet.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxQsRO8wljE[/youtube]

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dell is sitting on a number of Android prototype devices that offer MID-style internet access. Described as being "slightly larger" than Apple's iPod touch, the touchscreen prototypes are said to be ARM-based and, from the sound of things, very much in the experimental stage.
Dell have made no secret of the fact that they've been experimenting with Android. Back in May the company demonstrated a netbook running the open-source OS, though they were clear that it was only a prototype and not confirmation of an upcoming production model.
This latest leak appears to be more of the same; another source, who claims to have been briefed on Dell's plans, suggests that the Android MID could be put into production for a release later in 2009, or alternatively "the plan could be delayed or scrapped entirely." Dell are apparently considering distributing the MID via carriers, similar to the manner in which their 3G-enabled netbooks are sold; there's also talk of a separate line of Android-based smartphones still in the works.
[via SlashGear]

If Bsquare have their way, it won't just be the HTC Hero that gets Flash playback capabilities: all Android devices will. The company has announced its Flash browser plugin for ARM-based Android devices, such as the HTC Magic and T-Mobile G1, running Cupcake 1.5.
Bsquare had announced back in March that they were working on a Flash plugin with an unnamed "tier one" carrier. This latest news seems to suggest that their attempts at porting Flash have been successful; however, there's no sign of general availability for the plugin, with Bsquare seemingly targeting OEMs:

"Our Flash Platform technology browser plug-in will be valuable to OEMs building ARM-based smartbooks and to those who are developing other types of Android devices requiring a rich media experience that is fundamentally different than anything else available for users today" Larry Stapleton, VP global sales, Bsquare

Of course, the nature of the Android platform means that what arrives on one device soon gets ported to everything else, so even without an official release it's likely we'll see Flash on existing Android devices. No word on when Bsquare might release the plugin.
[via jkOnTheRun]

Expansys have become the next significant retailer to offer preorders for the HTC Hero, and their price comes in neatly below that of Amazon UK. Expansys are listing the Hero - in white, unlocked and SIM-free - for £399.99 in the UK or $649.99 in the US (without US 3G).
Don't be misled by the seemingly more ambitious availability on Expansys' listing, however. While they say the Hero is expected to launch in eight days, that's not including weekends; in fact, it tallies with Amazon's July 15th ship date estimate.
Still, it's a little cheaper (and Expansys throw in £30 of their own gift vouchers, for accessories and the like) so if you're not interested in Orange or T-Mobile's offers then it may be the easiest way to pick up a new Hero. More details about HTC's latest Android smartphone in the video below.
[thanks Mario!]
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No official confirmation as yet, but according to PhoneNews Sprint is internally testing a CDMA version of the HTC Hero with a release planned for the end of 2009. HTC themselves have only confirmed that the Hero will reach the US "later in 2009", after its European and Asian debut.
The Sprint Hero would also be accompanied, their sources suggest, by a multi-mode CDMA and WiMAX Android phone, made by Samsung. This would take advantage of the WiMAX network Sprint have developed in partnership with Clear.
Sprint have already confirmed that they intend to launch a tri-mode CDMA/WiMAX handset sometime in 2009 or 2010; however they've not publicly suggested which OS the smartphone might use. Samsung have previously created a small number of WiMAX handsets, usually for use in Asia; it's unclear whether this new Android model would be a version of one of those, or a completely new device.

We're still waiting to receive our HTC Hero review unit, but going by this Amazon UK listing it shouldn't be too long before the smartphone itself is available in unlocked form. The online retailer are advertising the Hero for £429.99 ($712).
According to Amazon, the unlocked HTC Hero will be released on July 15, a little over two weeks away. It will come with a screen protector, travel charger, mini-USB data cable, batter, wired stereo headset and a 2GB microSD card. Since it's a European model, it supports dualband HSPA/WCDMA (900/2100MHz).
Remember, if you've any particular questions that you'd like answered in our Hero review, head over to this thread and ask away! For more on the Hero itself, check out the video below and this hands-on post.
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[via Phandroid]

Spanish firm GeeksPhone have unveiled their first Android smartphone, and if you weren't looking closely you could easily think they'd been taking part in the Andromnia project. The GeeksPhone One is a Samsung-lookalike with a 3.2-inch touchscreen, HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth and A-GPS.
There's also a 3.2-megapixel camera and - something HTC inexplicably left off of the Hero - a front-facing camera for video calls. A microSD card slot and integrated DVB-T TV tuner are useful additions too. Bizarrely, they've decided to use a resistive rather than capacitive touchscreen; we can only assume it's a cost-saving exercise.
The results of that exercise, in fact, is an estimated price tag of between €250 and €300 ($352-$422); that's reasonable for an unlocked GSM device. We'll have to wait and see how well Android 1.5 Cupcake runs on its 625MHz PXA310 processor, and whether the resistive display slows things down; the GeeksPhone One is set to arrive in Europe this fall.
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[via Engadget Spanish]